


Triad

by IrinyaClockworker



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Gen, I'm not actually sure what happened here, Non-Chronological, Nonbinary Character, i guess?, the timeline's weird. ok?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-14 01:24:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19263145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IrinyaClockworker/pseuds/IrinyaClockworker
Summary: tri·ad | \ ˈtrī-ˌad also -əd  \1 : a union or group of three2 : a chord of three tones consisting of a root with its third and fifth and constituting the harmonic basis of tonal music





	Triad

**Author's Note:**

  * For [menthuthuyoupi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/menthuthuyoupi/gifts).



> Happy birthday! ...I'm sorry that this is canon-compliant.

And what, exactly, is a Royal Guard supposed to do if there's no one to guard?

Okay, that's a little disingenuous. There _is_ someone to guard--the queen mother, both quite literal terms. She is _their_ mother, Neferpitou supposes, but that pales in comparison to her current and future duty--to carry and bear their King.

Neferpitou wonders more and more with each passing day what that King will look like. Will he be like Pitou, lean and agile, with a predator's gaze and claws? Will he be like Pouf, elegant and fragile-looking, deep eyes and delicate fingers? Will he be like Youpi, strong and imposing, gimlet stare and powerful grip? Perhaps some combination of the three...

Yet Neferpitou knows that no matter how much they try to imagine their future King, nothing their mind can create will ever compare to the true glory of the One, the only King who could ever truly claim such a title, the rightful ruler of all that is.

But that King is not yet born, and still lies curled safely in his mother's womb, waiting for the day that he can emerge and take his destined place at the peak, the crowning glory of all of nature.

In the meantime, Neferpitou, Shaiapouf, and Menthuthuyoupi have one goal: protect the queen until the King is born. After that, she won't have any further use. Pitou doesn't know what will happen to her then, and they don't particularly care. Whatever the King desires.

 

There are so few threats for them to deal with--a few upstart soldier ants, easily put in their place with a flare of aura, a reminder of their lowly status. Every now and again some pitiful non-ant creature--Pitou can identify them all on sight, but they don't _care_ \--wanders too close to the nest, and is killed. 

To be honest, it isn't because they're threats. It's because the Guards are bored.

Neferpitou looks into what they've learned humans call 'science'--a fascinating type of interaction with the world, studying and examining and experimenting. It's especially fun when they get to try it out on a human. At one point, a living human manages to infiltrate the nest, and Neferpitou has a _fascinating_ time studying them. Sadly, there's not much interesting about them after that.

Shaiapouf is more of an aesthete, to absolutely no one's surprise. He takes up 'music', a strange sort of thing that is apparently used as a source of entertainment and pleasure. With the strange wooden instrument called a 'violin', he creates tunes both discordant and harmonious. He doesn't bother with human songs, and instead plays whatever he wants. Some of it hurts Pitou's ears, but they won't complain. Pouf is their brother, and what makes him happy makes Pitou happy. 

Menthuthuyoupi seems to have no interests of his own, but he finds a certain fascination in watching what his siblings enjoy. Pitou adds a few more frivolous experiments to their itinerary, and Pouf alters his playing when he knows Youpi is listening, creating sounds that make the third sibling happy.

The Guards are in harmony--something Pouf calls a 'triad'. Three separate individuals, each of value on their own, but _together,_ something even more special.

 

Pitou thinks, sometimes, about a human--someone they oddly consider 'theirs'. How entertaining he'd been! For prey, quite masterful, even with a missing limb. Still, he hadn't been enough. Neferpitou toyed with him for a while--since at the core of their being, they were, are, and will always be a cat--and then ended his life, slicing him to ribbons.

They don't tell the other Guards, but this is why they have the ability they do, why science fascinates them so much.

They missed him. They wanted him back, so they could fight once more. Yet no matter how hard they try, they can't bring back the same human they'd killed--only a stitched-up shell.

It is from their human that Neferpitou learns the value of human life.

 

Pouf thinks, sometimes, about a human--someone he despises with all of his heart. The King is taken with her, fascinated by her ability, and it throws Pouf into a spiral of confusion, constantly second-guessing himself, his thoughts, his feelings, his actions. She is _distracting_ the King, she _must_ be removed--she is _honing_ the King's abilities, to kill her would be tantamount to _treason_ \--he is a failure as a royal guard, he decides.

He doesn't tell the other Guards, but he feels almost jealous of her for holding the King's attention more than his loyal servant ever could.

He takes every opportunity he can to try and end her life, anyway. Yet no matter how hard he tries, he can't kill her. Something is always in the way.

It is from that _girl_ that Shaiapouf learns the meaning of bloodlust.

 

Youpi thinks, sometimes, about a human--someone who had showed both skill and _love._ Youpi doesn't fully understand it--why would a human give up an important victory just to protect those who aren't even his kin? Though Youpi cares deeply for his siblings, they all know that protecting the King comes first and foremost. Why would anyone throw away their ultimate goal out of affection?

He doesn't tell the other Guards, but he wishes that he could be certain they would do the same for him.

It is from that strange man that Menthuthuyoupi learns compassion.

 

With the invasion of the palace, the triad is broken.

In a desperate bid to protect Komugi, Neferpitou allows a boy with rage in his eyes to lead them away.

In an attempt to save his King, Shaiapouf chases a boy with electricity surging through his veins.

In the hope of finding his sibling, Menthuthuyoupi leaves the King's side.

 

As they were the first to be born, Neferpitou is the first to die.

Crushed to a pulp in revenge for the human they'd killed, their last thoughts are of their King.

Menthuthuyoupi is overcome by the thorns of the Rose that burned in the sky, and succumbs to its poison, wondering where his eldest sibling has gone.

Shaiapouf's once-beautiful form is ravaged by the poison that killed his brother, and he falls in a torn and ragged heap, cursing his failure.

 

Somewhere far away, in a place they have not seen and will never see, a small gray cat catches a butterfly in its paws, and devours it.


End file.
